I guess the highlight of my year in 2016, was becoming an uncle for the first time. It seems like a dream ago when my brother made the announcement that they were having a baby. I call this part of the year "The great anticipation!" The journey to see the mom, my brother and my little nephew was beyond what words can say. I was so proud of the mother and father, and prayed deeply that morning for a safe delivery. I kept using the phrase "Lord willing" throughout the whole expectancy process, and I will continue to use those words, as little Ezra grows up.
I think we all want things to go perfectly in our lives, and when life throws stuff at us that we weren't expecting I think we can freeze up. My brother having a baby with his partner, is bringing so much joy into my life, and with that the responsibility of caring for another human being. I never thought that having a baby was so much work, but when you parents and family members look into the eyes of a beautiful new child, it seems for a moment that all that hard work is worth it.
Life can be like that at times. We can look at all the stuff we are doing to survive and we can get down hearted, because of all the responsibilities it throws at our way. We see things in our society like injustice, and those with very little and we begin to question the goodness of God, or if there really is a God. We are living in a time right now where there is a lot of atheism. I believe because of all of the suffering in the world people are choosing to not believe in God, because of their pain. Even those who believe in God are having a really hard time reconciling the injustice in the world, with "How could God let it go this far?" Some of our churches are really having a hard time getting people to commit, and it shouldn't be this way. There is a lot of bullying inside our churches, between our own people, and it makes those of good will question "what the hell is going on?"
Churches are struggling with their reputations, and as far as I know it never used to be that way. Some on the outside are in awe at how dysfunctional we have become and despite this, some are still going to church. Is all lost? The way I see it the church reflects in herself, what is actually happening in our society. The church will always come out on top if we remember our purpose. The infighting that we see these days really doesn't look good outwardly speaking, and if I was on the outside, I really wouldn't want in. So taking the church to the world doesn't look like it used to, they have had enough of rules, their needs are not being met, and they are going to secular places to meet those needs. There should never be a lack of love in a church, and I think many people are fed up with the hypocrisy.
Because we know we are all sinners, only some are truly seeing their need for the Saviour. I am glad to be a part of a church that still has traditions. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Instead of fighting over doctrine, which is what is happening in the church, we should be showing the love of God to others. This love must be unconditional, because no one will come to the Saviour if you immediately put conditions on their salvation. When we come to Christ, we are made to feel welcomed by God. We have a sense that our sins are forgiven unconditionally, and the work has already been accomplished. We then begin to live out our new lives with a sense of God's forgiveness, this is the way it is with everyone. Somewhere down the line, if we are unlucky we get caught up with legalism and dogmatism. We get trapped into thinking that somehow I have to please the Lord with my good works, in order to keep my salvation. We even run into fellow Christians who reinforce our works mentality, through legalistic means of keeping us "plugged in."
The design of the modern church has taken us further and further away from fostering a true relationship with Christ and has made us Christians poorer as a result. I think we are living in a time where we have to be careful that we are not pushing people away from the cross, and putting Christians out of our churches based on minor doctrinal differences. I am getting the feeling that that our churches are not safe anymore, and this leads the public to question if they will actually hear the saving message of Christ. I believe God can use us despite our struggles inside the church, but it is a frightening thing to see that the Christian gospel is somehow getting lost in all of this. People will literally go to hell because of our infighting, and it must stop.
I think we all want things to go perfectly in our lives, and when life throws stuff at us that we weren't expecting I think we can freeze up. My brother having a baby with his partner, is bringing so much joy into my life, and with that the responsibility of caring for another human being. I never thought that having a baby was so much work, but when you parents and family members look into the eyes of a beautiful new child, it seems for a moment that all that hard work is worth it.
Life can be like that at times. We can look at all the stuff we are doing to survive and we can get down hearted, because of all the responsibilities it throws at our way. We see things in our society like injustice, and those with very little and we begin to question the goodness of God, or if there really is a God. We are living in a time right now where there is a lot of atheism. I believe because of all of the suffering in the world people are choosing to not believe in God, because of their pain. Even those who believe in God are having a really hard time reconciling the injustice in the world, with "How could God let it go this far?" Some of our churches are really having a hard time getting people to commit, and it shouldn't be this way. There is a lot of bullying inside our churches, between our own people, and it makes those of good will question "what the hell is going on?"
Churches are struggling with their reputations, and as far as I know it never used to be that way. Some on the outside are in awe at how dysfunctional we have become and despite this, some are still going to church. Is all lost? The way I see it the church reflects in herself, what is actually happening in our society. The church will always come out on top if we remember our purpose. The infighting that we see these days really doesn't look good outwardly speaking, and if I was on the outside, I really wouldn't want in. So taking the church to the world doesn't look like it used to, they have had enough of rules, their needs are not being met, and they are going to secular places to meet those needs. There should never be a lack of love in a church, and I think many people are fed up with the hypocrisy.
Because we know we are all sinners, only some are truly seeing their need for the Saviour. I am glad to be a part of a church that still has traditions. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Instead of fighting over doctrine, which is what is happening in the church, we should be showing the love of God to others. This love must be unconditional, because no one will come to the Saviour if you immediately put conditions on their salvation. When we come to Christ, we are made to feel welcomed by God. We have a sense that our sins are forgiven unconditionally, and the work has already been accomplished. We then begin to live out our new lives with a sense of God's forgiveness, this is the way it is with everyone. Somewhere down the line, if we are unlucky we get caught up with legalism and dogmatism. We get trapped into thinking that somehow I have to please the Lord with my good works, in order to keep my salvation. We even run into fellow Christians who reinforce our works mentality, through legalistic means of keeping us "plugged in."
The design of the modern church has taken us further and further away from fostering a true relationship with Christ and has made us Christians poorer as a result. I think we are living in a time where we have to be careful that we are not pushing people away from the cross, and putting Christians out of our churches based on minor doctrinal differences. I am getting the feeling that that our churches are not safe anymore, and this leads the public to question if they will actually hear the saving message of Christ. I believe God can use us despite our struggles inside the church, but it is a frightening thing to see that the Christian gospel is somehow getting lost in all of this. People will literally go to hell because of our infighting, and it must stop.
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